Surrender Is an Option
by Matt Perrett
Summary: Even the most loyal troops will fold under the right circumstances.


In the grey, decaying ruins of the Necrohol of Mullonde, Cletienne's forces arrayed themselves against Ramza's, blocking the sole path to the airship graveyard, Folmarv and St. Ajora. This was the penultimate line of defense: the most skilled, best equipped, and above all else, most fanatically devoted of the Church's ranks. A devastating combination of strength, swiftness and magical prowess, they were unmatched, the best of the best, the elite. Led by one of the greatest sorcerers of the age, second only to the legendary Elidibus, they were unstoppable.

Cletienne glared at Ramza, seething with barely suppressed fury at the loss of his co-conspirator and long-time companion, Loffrey. "So, Ser Loffrey is defeated," he declared forcefully, a trace of his characteristic smugness making itself known. "Then it falls on me to stop you, if I would do honor to his noble sacrifice!"

Before any of Glabados's soldiers could act, however, a blistering volley of magic, sword techniques and other grievous bodily harm dropped the mage in seconds flat. A shocked silence descended over the battlefield as all present turned to stare at the dying spellcaster. The wind and the final gasping breaths of the wizard were the only sounds in the dreadful stillness.

"Loffrey..." Cletienne wheezed, "Forgive me..." Then, with one last shudder, he lay still, face down in the dust of the long-forgotten city.

The quiet lasted only a few moments longer before one of the samurai tossed his katana away and put his hands up. "We surrender!" the man stated fervently. The others quickly followed suit, discarding their weapons with all due haste.

"Wise move," Ramza replied as he stepped forward. He cautiously nudged Cletienne's corpse with his sword to make sure the sorcerer was really dead. "You did know that your boss was in league with the Lucavi, right?"

"What? That's preposterous!" exclaimed the samurai vehemently. "Ser Cletienne was a man of the cloth and a true believer in Our Lord St. Ajora! He would never—"

The soldier broke off his diatribe when, suddenly, the mage's body burst into blue, sinister-looking flames. The unholy fire rapidly consumed the wizard's form until only ash remained, leaving a blackened, man-shaped depression in the dirt. Dumfounded by this turn of events, the men once again fell into silence. "Lucavi, you say?" the samurai asked after a long moment.

"Yep," answered Ramza as he scattered the ashes, just to be sure.

"Well...shit," the samurai swore with no trace of emotion, though his expression revealed that he was recalling some questionable acts he had performed 'for the Church.' The same thought seemed to be occurring to the others as well, who looked distinctly uncomfortable.

"You're welcome to come with us, if you'd like," the young leader offered.

"What do you plan to do?" interjected one of the time mages standing near the back.

"Confront Folmarv, prevent the resurrection of the last of the Lucavi, and if necessary, kill St. Ajora," Ramza stated matter-of-factly.

The men glanced at each other as they took this in, trying to reconcile the revelations with their firmly established beliefs. "I think we'll sit this one out, if that's alright with you," the samurai finally responded.

Ramza shrugged. "Fine by me. We have enough firepower to get the job done as is."

No one disputed the young squire's claim, and the two groups lapsed into an awkward silence. "Okay, so...we're going to head back through the portal and, y'know, go home," the samurai said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Ramza winced sympathetically. "Oooh, about that...Loffrey blew up the portal so that we couldn't go back. I'm pretty sure we're stuck here forever."

"Forever?" shrieked one of the ninjas in a surprisingly shrill voice.

The blonde swordsman gestured with his thumb over his shoulder at a crumbling structure a short distance behind him. "Some of Loffrey's troops are taking shelter in the remains of the portal building if you want to join up with them.

The samurai nodded, discouraged. "I think we might do that. C'mon, guys." With that, he started walking towards the crumbling building, his dazed and overwhelmed cohorts following him after a moment's hesitation.

Ramza's companions stepped aside to let them pass, eyeing them carefully but clearly not anticipating any resistance at this point. Once the Church's soldiers had passed, they began to make their way down the path towards the strange flashes of light in the distance. Before they could go, the samurai turned back and called out to Ramza. "Well then, um...good luck, I guess."

The young warrior flashed the man a thin smile. "Thanks," he replied. "Assuming we don't die horribly, we'll be back to look for a way out." Making a surprisingly jaunty wave for such a desolate place, he too walked down the path and out of sight.

The samurai sighed, then resumed his trek towards the makeshift shelter. For now they'd worry about surviving and finding a way back to Ivalice, but more likely than not they'd have a lot of explaining to do...probably to a war crimes tribunal. Sometimes, he grudgingly acknowledged, being a loyal man-at-arms just doesn't pay.


End file.
